What Does Paul Say About Women?
This may come as a surprise, but there are still people who believe that women should not preach or serve as pastors. They use the same tired, out-of-context verses as a weapon to tell women to be silent. I am actually doing a sermon series right now addressing those passages.
But let's look at some of the other things Paul says about women!
In Romans 16:1, Paul says that Phoebe is a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. "Deacon” is a title that he uses for himself and others engaged in a ministry of teaching and preaching, with no gender distinctions (see that Greek term in 1 Cor. 3:5; 2 Cor. 6:4; Phil. 1:1).
Next, Paul greets Prisca (or Priscilla) and Aquila, who have worked with him (Rom. 16:3; more on Priscilla later). As elsewhere, Paul lists Prisca before her husband, suggesting that she is a more prominent figure (cf. Acts 18:18, 26; 2 Tim. 4:19).
The third significant woman in Paul’s greetings is Junia. Paul designates Junia as an “apostle” (Rom. 16:7), meaning that she is an early witness to the resurrection.
Until at least the Middle Ages, church writers interpreted Junia as a female name, but later interpreters assumed that a woman could not have been an apostle and instead used the masculine name Junias.
However, there is ample evidence that the name Junia was common for women and no evidence that the name Junias was ever used among men. Modern scholars have recognized that this is a female apostle.
In addition, Paul refers to several other women in Romans 16, including Mary, Tryphaena and Tryphosa, Persis, and Julia, as well as the mother of Rufus and the sister of Nereus; he commends them for their work in the church.
It appears that many of these women are leaders of house churches in Rome, and nothing suggests that their work is different from their male counterparts. Here in this text, Paul assumes that women will engage in ministry.
On to Priscilla! Priscilla and Aquila not only work with Paul in Corinth; they also travel with him to Ephesus (Acts 18:18–19). Notably, Priscilla’s name appears first when the couple is mentioned, both here and in Paul’s Letter to the Romans (Acts 18:18, 26; cf. Rom. 16:3–4).
Paul uses a Greek word to describe her that means fellow worker, co-laborer, or companion in work (Rom. 16:3). This is a title that he uses for others like Timothy, Mark, and Luke. Paul recognizes Priscilla’s value as a co-laborer in Christ.
It is possible that Priscilla is named first because she is the leader in this mission, particularly in teaching. When Apollos arrives, it is clear to Priscilla and Aquila that he has enthusiasm but does not know the full gospel (Acts 18:25).
Rather than publicly confronting him, Priscilla and Aquila take Apollos aside and privately instruct him (Acts 18:26). So Priscilla is not only an evangelist herself, but also one who helps train others.
Priscilla appears not only here; she also is named in the letters that Paul sends, showing her continuing influence in leading house churches. She is not silent but takes an active role in leading and teaching, correcting colleagues who might harm the witness of the early church.
Finally, Paul describes Timothy’s faith as the faith that “lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice” (2 Tim. 1:5). Paul is commending Lois and Eunice as the ones responsible for Timothy’s childhood education in Scripture.
Paul worked with women. He named them as leaders, teachers, deacons, and apostles. Saying otherwise is contrary to the witness of Scripture.